The present invention relates to the packaging of pre-cooked sandwiches and a method for their distribution by being reheated and placed in heated merchandisers.
A popular fast food breakfast item is a biscuit sandwich, typically containing ham, sausage, or steak. Fast food restaurants cook such biscuit sandwiches on site, either to order, or slightly in advance of the order, and then maintain the biscuits in heated holding bins. Gas stations, convenience stores, quick service food marts, airport shops, and other small retail locations without kitchen facilities, compete for these breakfast sales. Heretofore, such locations have been unable to present the consumer with completely satisfactory biscuit sandwiches. The most typical competitive biscuit offerings have been sold in a refrigerated state to the consumer in sealed, clear plastic packaging, with one or two biscuits per package. Such sandwiches usually weigh no more than about 2 ounces, have had bread-like biscuit components relatively low in fat content, and must be unwrapped and heated by the consumer in a microwave provided by the retail outlet. The microwaving step takes time, and some customers do not want to wait, thereby removing the convenience aspect of the biscuit item. Furthermore, the bread-like biscuit portion is not as desirable as a higher fat, home-made style biscuit. Another competitive solution has been attempted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,934 wherein a specially designed merchandiser and specially designed individual thermoplastic packaging for sandwiches, including breakfast items such as sausage and biscuit combinations is contemplated. The cost of the special merchandiser and packaging appears to be a disadvantage of this approach. Alternative bulk packaging of 4, 6, 12 and 24 biscuit sandwiches in cardboard boxes for
reheating by consumers in their homes also exist. These biscuit sandwiches are also typically only about 2 ounces in size and are generally grouped in pairs in plastic packages within the larger cardboard box. Some biscuit sandwiches are made larger, up to about 3-1/4 ounces and are individually packaged in plastic within a larger cardboard box. No refrigerated biscuit sandwich products are known to be individually wrapped in paper.
In order to present a satisfactory product, many factors must be addressed. The biscuit and meat components of the sandwich must be selected such that they will have a substantial shelf life when properly packaged, and such that when reheated and placed in a heated merchandiser will not deteriorate too rapidly. In addition, packaging for the biscuit sandwiches must be inexpensive, preferably transparent and microwavable, flexible, and providing a barrier to oxygen and moisture, as well as sufficient toughness for casual handling and storage for a 3 to 5 week period. In addition, the biscuit sandwiches should preferably be individually wrapped with a wax paper or other grease-resistant yet slightly absorbent wrapper for consumer convenience in handling the re-heated sandwich products. Finally, the re-heated sandwich products must be presented in a heated merchandising device which displays the products in view of consumers to stimulate buying, preferably permitting aroma of the sandwich products to permeate the surrounding area. Furthermore, because demand is uncertain, the merchandising device must also maintain the sandwich products in a heated, palatable condition during several hours of display.